Canadian couple caught with dead toddler in suitcase face new charge, denied bail in Jamaica

By Bradley Bouzane

A Canadian woman and her husband are facing a new charge and were denied bail in Jamaica Tuesday after the decomposing body of their two-year-old son was found stuffed inside a suitcase in their home.

The couple appeared in a Kingston, Jamaica court Tuesday and were charged with failure to bury a body. They previously had been charged with concealment of death after the “partially mummified” remains of the boy were found inside their home by neighbours on Jan. 15.

Bail was denied to the parents, who are scheduled back in court on Feb. 21.

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Both also were reportedly at the centre of a 2008 case in which another child was abandoned in a frigid Toronto stairwell. The parents in that case pleaded guilty to charges.

Jamaican police said neighbours became concerned after reporting the child had not been seen for some time, and before alerting police, residents were able to get inside the couple’s home, where they found the partially decomposed body.

Jamaican media reported an autopsy revealed the boy — whose remains were removed from the home and transported to the morgue soon after they were found — died of natural causes and that foul play was not suspected.

Karl Angell of the Jamaica Constabulary Force said Monday that the “partially mummified” remains of the young boy were in the suitcase for “two or three months.”

The woman is Canadian, local authorities said, while her husband is Jamaican. Angell said police have been informed the couple is the same one that was linked to the 2008 incident in Toronto, but are still attempting to confirm those details.

In January 2008, a young child — dubbed Baby Angelica — was found face down and bleeding in a stairwell in Toronto. She was wearing only a thin snowsuit, an undershirt and a hat in the -8 C weather.

The parents in that case pleaded guilty to a swath of charges, including assault and failure to provide the necessities of life. The father also was charged with assault with a weapon.

When sentenced, the couple could not be named to protect the identity of the infant.

The father was credited for time served and put on probation for two years. The mother was fined $300.